30 Seconds to Mars has new music in its future

Friday

Apr 29, 2011 at 12:01 AM

A year and a half has passed since "This Is War," the latest album from 30 Seconds to Mars, dropped.

Perhaps the pop-rock band is thinking about its next project.

"Maybe we're not," guitarist Tomo Milicevic says while calling from Grand Rapids, Mich. "First, we have to decide if we're even going to make another album. Do we actually want to go through such a massive undertaking again?"

Is Milicevic offering a hint that the band, which is slated to play Saturday at the Susquehanna Bank Center, will be on hiatus so vocalist-guitarist Jared Leto can once again focus on his career as an actor?

"No," Milicevic says. "Jared is all about this band. We'll make another album. It's just difficult to think about making another one since there is so much work to do. But Jared is totally into making another one."

Leto, who has had featured parts in films such as "Panic Room," "Fight Club" and "Requiem For a Dream," has indeed been all about music in recent years.

The former teen dream, who was the object of Claire Danes' affection in the ABC hit "My So-Called Life," could have treated music like a part-time gig. But Leto, who moved to Hollywood during the early '90s to start his music career before acting catapulted him to fame, turned down a major role in the 2006 film "Flags of Our Fathers" due to 30 Seconds to Mars.

"Jared is committed to the band," says Milicevic. "He's also on a creative streak right now. A lot of new songs have been written."

So after all that, Milicevic reveals that 30 Seconds to Mars will indeed make another album.

"It's a lot of work, but this is what it's about for us," he says. "I'm sure we'll make another album. This is what we love to do."

Milicevic isn't certain how the next album will sound, but he believes it might be similar to the lush, well-produced "This Is War," which features a number of dramatic, majestic rockers.

"As far as the way songs are written, we don't follow any formula," he says. "We just follow our guts, but as far as recording music, we're all super-nerds. We're all into the science of recording. We wanted to make a great-sounding album with 'This Is War' and I can see us going in that direction again.

"That's why we had (producers) Flood and Steve Lillywhite come in to work on 'This Is War.' They're great technicians and they made some of the greatest-sounding albums ever with Depeche Mode, Nine Inch Nails and U2. A great sound is very important to us."

Before 30 Seconds to Mars hits the studio, the band plans to tour throughout the summer, headlining theaters and playing festivals in North America and Europe.

"There are a lot of places that we need to go back to," says Milicevic. "Some fans haven't heard the 'This Is War' songs live. We still have some ground to cover, and then I guess it'll be time to go through the recording process again."